Yūjō no Ringu
Yūjo no Ringu (友情のリング) is the 57th episode of Crush Gear Turbo that first aired on November 10, 2002. Synopsis The final battle between Gear Master Jin and Kuroudo Marume is about to begin. Will Kuroudo be able fight their past his face his fears after a long struggle?? Or will either of the two maintain their friendship regardless of outcome??? Plot Both Kuroudo and Jin won a round each in the first two rounds. Jirou compliments Jin and hands him a towel. Jin asked if he was trying to lecture him on team spirit. But that's not what he wanted to tell him but he will proud of both of them if either of them win. Jin said that their long awaited fight is more than just a gear fight but also destiny that had has been built on them for years. Kyousuke in his mind tells Kuroudo to prepare himself and face him. Jirou now in his mind tells Kuroudo that it's time he faces his past. On Kuroudo's side of the arena Kouya asks him if he was going to change settings of his gear. Kaoru offers him water and tells him relax and have fun regardless of who wins but he slaps the water away from her and tells Kaoru to leave him be. Kuroudo in despair doesn't know what to do and doesn't want to lose to Jin. Kaoru tried to calm him down but Kouya told her to leave him be. Kuroudo is fearing to lose to Jin in the next game and screams. He discovers Eddie is spectating him and believes he came to mock him. Kuroudo then remembers Eddie's words in a flashback to be his true self. Upon realising this, Kuroudo laughs in happiness knowing his answer. All this time he had been scared of losing and chose to give up and he was weak. Kouya tells him that everyone has weaknesses but all fight on to become better once they realise. Winning isn't always everything but to keep on trying in order to get better. Lilika adds on that no need to be afraid to hide one's true feelings but to be himself in battle. It's what Jin would have wanted. Inspired by their words, Kuroudo asks Kouya to help prepare. He sets his gear to dash wheels while Jin sets his to spin. Both sides are prepare themselves. The winner of the final round would be the one who surpasses one's limits. Third and final round is about to begin. Before the bout, Kuroudo wants to tell Jin that he worked very hard to find his weaknesses but only to fool himself. He blinded himself from seeing any of it and was choosing to run away instead of facing the challenges. He was about to do it today but uses Kouya as an excuse and also did the same back in Team Griffin in the finals fearing he would lose and uses the microchip as an excuse. He ran away from the game in fear. Jin proudly compliments him to finally admit it. Because of that he can get better. Jin then tosses the microchip and gives him the honour of smashing it. Their long awaited gear fight like friends and gear fighters like they've been destined to have are finally about to be realised. As both gear fighters set up both give each other good luck, Kyousuke has every intention in beating him with Kuroudo thinking the same thoughts. Gears are then thrown in the ring. Both fighters give it their all with both gear fighters explaining their own theories. Kuroudo's point of view, there's no such thing as being born with talent. Jin's theory is to face one's limitations and then build on them. Kuroudo believes strength works by finding weakness. Eddie finds to bout to be interesting and asks Takeshi on who would win. Takeshi couldn't tell but in the end pure power will be the deciding factor. Resuming from the match, he states that Shooting Phantom is designed to compliment Kuroudo's high speed style but be tough to beat with high dash wheels. Then casts Burning Inferno. Kuroudo exclaims we don't hold back anymore and casts Lightning Flash. Shooting Phamtom dodges Burning Inferno and rams Dino Phalanx. Both gears fight arduously and fighting beyond their limits. Back in the Si Xing Hu Tuan's hotel room, Li Chun and Ma Liang praise them both of them giving it their all. Lan Fang begs them to watch their battle in person due to how important it is to them and agree to go. With less than a minute left, both gears are stalemated and both fighters are almost reaching their limits. Takeshi sees them both being able to dodge or counters one's moves. But if either of them lose focus then they will lose as Takeshi and Eddie stated. Kaoru can barely watch how it will turn out as both seem exhausted. But Kouya assures to Kaoru that they're okay and are enjoying every second of the match. But Kaoru asks if it had to be this hard but Kouya said yes. Lan Fang reflects on how she first held a Crush Gear and thought it was a joyful thing. From that point Lan Fang wanted to perfect her gear fighting skill. To Li Chun's point it felt nothing but pain and suffering. Although Ma Liang agreed, he states Crush Gear was mean't to be enjoyed by everyone. Both opponents put faith in their gears. Kuroudo closes his eyes much to Jin and Crush Gordon's shock. He was trying not to get distracted but to see the ring in his head and see the movement. Shooting Phantom then strikes with Dino Phalanx striking back. Both gear fighters' adrenaline pumps pushing their abilities beyond their limits as both gears have a head on collision. Both gears wrestle each other with both hitting the spin block with Shooting Phantom's drill cracking. Mid-air gears fly past each other with a slight collision. Shooting Phantom bounces back into the ring while Dino Phalanx is knocked out of the ring with Kuroudo emerging victorious. Kuroudo hands Dino Phalanx back to Jin and helps him up. Eddie leaves the arena while Jin gets packing. Jin remembers what Alex told him that when he meets a gear fighter he can trust then everything will change for him. He was sure that Alex was wrong about everything and was stupid of him to do it on his own. Jin thought he can use all this time to think it over with. He takes leave with Kuroudo at his doorstep and told him to move. Kuroudo refuses but since it's finished he doesn't want to hang around with Kuroudo's remaining battles and tells him once again to move aside. Again Kuroudo refuses and tells him he's staying and needs him no matter what. Others beg him to stay as they still need him to stand by their remaining battles with his expertise. Although he lost Kuroudo still wants him to stay in the remaining battles they face because he's still part of the team no matter what. Kouya convinces him the same way and the rest of the team want him to stay. Under Lilika's orders he begs him to stay as his expertise is still valuable for them. Kyousuke reconsiders and proudly exclaims that they're heading to Germany for the World Cup finals with the best gear master being by their side. Meanwhile back at the GFA office Takeshi hands the memory card that included the evidence of Kouya's participation in Gear Pancratum to Gina Firestone and request for her to erase the file. Gina asks if he wanted to save his competition to Kouya. Takeshi denies that but he thought it would be useful for him but Gina wonders how. Takeshi asks Gina a favour to tell him about his brother Sean Firestone also known as the Gear God. However Gina misinformed him and states his brother is irresponsible and isn't the person he is looking for. But Takeshi said his irresponsibility is nothing to do what he wants to know about. But wants to meet him personally. Despite his power and influence he still was unable to get a hold of him. He had his men look all over San Francisco for him. Gina couldn't be of help with his question. His brother is always moving around and never knows his whereabouts until he gains in contact with them. Takeshi then leaves knowing he can never find his answer. Gina wonders how he thought of his own brother being the Gear God because she always thought of the Gear God to be an elderly. Takeshi heard 10 years ago that the first ever Crush Gear was built by him at 12 years old and got that assumption that it was him. He takes his leave and hands the memory card to her with assurances that no copies had been made. Gina asked why he wanted to meet the gear god if it was because of the VT Chassis blueprints had been revealed. Takeshi could only answer her as a gear fighter that it was out of curiosity. Gina then erases the evidence clearing Kouya's name of participation. The following day the Tobita Club heads to the airport preparing to depart for Germany. Kouya realised after all they've been through alot has changed within the team. Kaoru agrees and still has a World Cup to try and win and now's the time to get to Germany where the final stage awaits them. Lilika then urges them to get moving. Jin stands for a few second but Kuroudo tells him to hurry up and assures that "she" (referring to Lan Fang) will be there embarrassing Kyousuke. Kouya and Jirou hurries both of them. Kouya mentioned of Sean Firestone and Cain while departing. Kaoru wonders whom Kouya was talking to and tells her those two were the ones who taught him an important lesson. Both Sean and Cain watch over him with Kouya owing him his thanks and will never forget what he tought him. Trivia * The battle concluded similarly to Takeshi and Kouya in the Asian Cup championship with both gears and gear fighters fight beyond their limits. The difference is Gaiki and Garuda Phoenix had a head on collision while in the air with their signature moves casted as Dino Phalanx and Shooting Phantom's had a head on collision on ground and both matches emit auras of light on both sides.